Golf courses, as a matter of common practice, install at least one yardage marker on each fairway to inform the golfer of a standard distance from the marker to the green. Such yardage markers are normally located in the center of the fairway, and in some situations in the rough, at the side of the fairway, but in either situation, at a predetermined distance measured to the center, or, on occasion, to the front, of the green. Golfers typically rely on those markers for club selection. Inasmuch as most golfers know the maximum distance that can be obtained by them with a given club such as a five iron, or a three wood, knowing the distance to the green can facilitate selection of the appropriate club. As beneficial as yardage markers can be in selecting the proper club, that benefit can only be enjoyed if the marker can be located by the golfer. Unfortunately, a considerable amount of time can be spent locating the presently employed markers. The time spent in searching for a marker prolongs the time required to play a round of golf, which not only reduces the number of golfers that can play the course during a given period of time but also tends to raise the ire of those golfers waiting for the player to select a club. This includes the golfers with whom the person is playing, and certainly those golfers in the next successive group playing that particular hole.
Markers heretofore employed have included wooden stakes erected in the rough along the side of the fairway as well as concrete slabs embedded in the fairway or special covers mounted on sprinkler heads. Stakes and concrete slabs can be accurately placed at the desired distance. The sprinkler covers, however, must be installed at locations mandated by the desired watering pattern. In any event, markers mounted on sprinkler heads can be quite difficult to locate, especially when playing a strange course.
When stakes are used, they are normally placed in the rough along the lateral edge of the fairway. These stakes can, on occasion also interfere with the "lie" of the ball, resulting in the necessity to move the ball and perhaps cause some argument as to the exact location from which the ball should be played. It is also difficult to mow around fixed stakes, without special attention. For both reasons some golf courses have installed removable stakes to obviate the problems inherent with fixed stakes, but some golfers are careless and can forget to return the stakes to their mount after the ball has been played. In addition, removable stakes can be pilfered. As a result, golf course managements tend to use a minimum number of stake markers for each hole.
When markers are used in the fairway they are placed flush with, or slightly below, the surface of the fairway. Specifically, a flush, white marker would be placed at a distance of 150 yards from the green. Some golf courses also employ a blue marker placed at a distance of 200 yards from the green, and a red marker placed at a distance of 100 yards from the green.
When concrete markers are placed in the fairway, they can be difficult to locate inasmuch as they must be mounted low enough so that mowers can go over them without causing damage to the mower. In addition, concrete markers must be anchored deep enough to minimize, if not to prevent, heaving as a result of frost or freezing. It must also be appreciated that the concrete markers can cause an unnatural bounce to any ball which strikes them. Hence, concrete markers may be placed at exact locations on the fairway to mark preselected distances to the green, but they may not be readily visible, and they can cause unexpected bounces when struck by the ball.